hopeless | jean kirstein

4 | i'm fine

The sun glittered from above as the 104th Cadet Corps began their training for the day. Groans and cries of pain could be heard from a distance as the trainees wrestled under the bright sunlight.

Months passed ever since they first stepped foot on the fields, and a lot has changed since then. They had been through hours of cruel and intense training, their bodies on the brink of exhaustion every time they surrendered for the night. They trudged through snowy mountains, got thrown off of cliffs without anything supporting them and had miraculously survived Shadis's ruthless remarks. Bonds were formed, enemies were made, relationships blossomed.

Some were dismissed, even some lives were lost, but to the ones that remained, everyday was a cycle of complete and utter hell.

For Taryn, it had been even worse. Although being quite skilled at moving with the 3D maneuver gear, she lacked terribly in other aspects. Whenever they practiced slashing the napes of the dummy Titans, her strikes were never as deep as the others which would lead to her getting lower scores than usual. She would often fall behind on physical activities, and it would be considered a miracle that she even made it this far. To say that she was treading on thin ice was an understatement.

And the fact that Jean kept on disturbing her didn't help at all. Every time she would decide to do exercises and work on improving her stamina, he would suddenly barge in, dragging her away and forcing her to play Cupid for him and Mikasa.

She was also a very bad Cupid, as there was next to no progress between the two. She had devised numerous plans, opened countless opportunities for them to talk and even went as far as trapping the two of them in a room together. Things, of course, never went as planned, and now she was certain Mikasa had caught on to what she was doing as the girl seemed keen on avoiding her and Jean these past few weeks.

But amidst those difficulties were small triumphs, just like now when she had Marco pinned to the ground, the both of them panting as they attempted to catch their breaths. He had challenged her to a duel that she had surprisingly won, causing a small smile to play on her lips.

He grinned at her. "Nice job, Taryn. You got stronger."

She returned the look while snatching the wooden knife tucked into his pocket. She stood up and brushed the dust off of her. Bending down, she offered him a hand and helped him up. "Thanks. I guess running those extra laps paid off."

Marco chuckled at her, before glancing around the place. "Where did Jean go?"

"Oh, he's over there," She said, pointing over to an area where they could see Jean lying down on one of the huge rocks. She frowned. "Sleeping."

Her disappointed expression made Marco laugh louder as they stared at Jean's resting figure, his hands behind his head like a pillow. The boy was snoring loudly, and Taryn wondered how he managed not to get caught by Instructor Shadis when he was in plain sight for everyone to see.

Speaking of the instructor, he noticed their idleness and roared at them, reverting their attention back to the current task. "Bodt! Freire! Don't just stand there and do something!"

"Yes sir!" They chorused.

Marco turned to face her when the instructor had left. "I'll go and spar with Bertholdt. Will you be okay on your own?"

She nodded. "I'm fine. I think I'll find someone else to partner with too."

And with that, Marco left as well, walking over to where Bertholdt was stationed at. Taryn looked around and started to search for a potential opponent. She figured she could fight Sasha, but she and Connie were too busy 'sparring' in the corner. She saw Krista and began to head towards her, but a sharp gaze from Ymir stopped her from going near the blonde any further. She thought of Mina, but the girl was already partnered with someone else. She didn't dare ask Mikasa to spar with her, she was aware of her legendary strength and Taryn didn't fancy getting another injury.